In 1995, a guy named Chris in my dorm let me borrow a Vineyard worship album entitled "Glory and Honor". It's pictured here. That album includes in the original release of the song "We Will Dance" by David Ruis...a popular song for several years. The song is over 10 minutes long on the album, which I loved. If you've been in church or around any type of contemporary worship over the last 10 years, there are probably 4-5 songs on the album that you would know.
For me, this borrowed album was the beginning of my love of worship music. I began buying almost every new Vineyard album that came out...and they use to release a new one every 3 months. Soon I was buying/listen to Davis Ruis, Brian Doerkson, Sonic Flood, Hillsong, Tony & Donny, and Matt Redmon.
Then, in 1998, the Passion series began. Amazing stuff. I have every Passion CD and love every one. David Crowder and Chris Tomlin, two of the core Passion members, have gone on to sell millions of their own worship albums. Worship music subscription companies formed, sending out new CD's every so often to minister who signed up. Contemporary Christian artists all began releasing their own worship albums...mostly made up of songs written by other worship artists. By the early 2000's, Vineyard Worship - which was really the best stuff coming out in the 1990's - was hardly relevant anymore. Other styles began to grow...grunge worship, rock worship, ska worship. Labels like Wow and Worship Together began releasing worship albums with 20-30 songs, all the most popular songs of that particular time or place.
Here's the weird part for me. In the last couple of years, other than Chris Tomlin and David Crowder, I don't know of any new worship music that's caught my attention. I've not really heard, seen, or bought anything new that's really pulled me in the way Vineyard and Passion did. Maybe I'm just not paying attention. Maybe the worship music craze that seemed to last about 10 years has faded a bit. Maybe the style is headed in a different direction - back to more traditional sounding stuff (?) - and I just haven't noticed it. What I know is that the worship music I've been belting out in my car (I'm a pretty enthusiastic worship driver) is the same stuff I've been listening to for quite a long time.
So help me, if you will. If you're a fan of worship music, what are you listening to? What's worth buying and listening to again and again? What album or artist first got you listening to worship music? What song do you love to sing loudly in your car? Who, if they were leading worship somewhere, would you drive 3 or 4 hours just to be a part of it?
